A Princess Torn (Alys Book #2)

Chapter 17

A knock on the door pulled Endolynn from a comfortable sleep.

She opened her eyes to unfamiliar blue fabrics making up the canopy above the bed.

Realization hit her sleepy brain and she gasped as she sat up with a start.

"Dastrehan, wake up!" she whispered loudly as she shook his shoulder.

He groaned, unhappy about having to wake up. But she continued to shake his shoulder until he opened his eyes, squinting at the sun coming through the skylight above.

"What?"

"I slept through the night. There is a servant at the door. Get up!"

Dastrehan sat up quickly and pulled the covers off.

"A minute!" he called to the waiting servant as he got up and started to pull on clothes.
Endolynn stepped into the wrinkled gown from the previous night and motioned for Dastrehan to help her.

Shirtless and still stumbling due to only just waking up, he made haste of clumsily tying up the back of her gown.

When he was done, Endolynn moved to the bathing chamber.

"Where are you going?" Dastrehan whispered, following her.

Endolynn walked to the far wall to a shelf holding towels and various jars.

"This leads to the chambers next door," Endolynn stood on her tiptoes to reach behind the towels and grasped a handle. The shelf creaked and slowly started to turn to the right.

She turned back to Dastrehan, who was looking at her amused.

"Don't," she warrened, giving him a disapproving look, "This is not funny. I have to go."

"Wait for a second," he held up his hand and went back into the bed chamber. Endolynn sighed, impatient. That servant would not wait forever.

He came back, carrying her crown and a handful of jewelry.

Endolynn sucked in a breath, alarmed by how careless she had been.

"Can you imagine if the servants found this in here?" Dastrehan winked.

Endolynn flushed just at the idea. She stepped forward to take them into her own hands, pressing a quick kiss onto his lips.

"I love you," he whispered as she closed the shelf behind her.

She stood in the bathing chamber of the next set of guest chambers. Luckily, this one was still empty.

Furious with herself, she moved quickly through the chambers to a shelf in the sitting room, where she let herself into a supply closet through another secret door. She waited behind the door, listening for movement or voices in the hall.

Nothing.

Slowly, she emerged into the hallway, hoping that no one other than servants would be up and about. Looping her left hand through her crown and the chain of her necklace, she reached up to run a hand through her hair. It felt like an absolute mess.

Somehow, she managed to make it all the way to Zaiden's chambers before she heard some people approaching in the hall.

She slipped through his door, carefully closing it behind herself.

The voices and steps moved past as she leaned against the door, catching her breath from the adrenaline coursing through her body.

When they were gone, she took a steadying breath and moved to the hanging on the wall that covered the secret passageway next to his empty bed.